WOW. I can't believe it's been over a year since I last updated. I hope this story is still enjoyable. Let's go, chapter 4!
Leonardo emerged from Donatello's lab with his arms crossed, deep in thought. He wasn't looking forward to bringing this matter up with Master Splinter. How to explain the whole thing without sounding like he was going insane?
He was startled from his problem by strangled noises that sounded suspiciously like revenge (growing up with three brothers, he was familiar with the sound). Looking up, he saw Raphael and Michelangelo on the upper level of their home. Wrestling, it looked like. As he got closer, he realized it would be more accurate to say Mikey was struggling while Raph was choking him with Señor Snake.
Leo facepalmed. He had been hoping never to see the darn thing again.
"Por favor!" Mikey sputtered. Desperate to survive, he was apparently trying to appease the snake by shouting random Spanish that came to mind. "Amigo! Sabroso! Telenovelas!"
Raphael and Señor Snake were unmoved, however. "I'll give ya one thing," Raph said as he tightened the makeshift noose."You sure can tie a knot. They seem to hold well under physical stress!"
"Gak! So I noticed!" Michelangelo flailed to the best of his ability, but couldn't extricate himself, as Raph was usually hard to beat when it came to brute strength.
"What's going on out here?" came Don's voice from behind Leo. He took in the scene before him. "Um, is that supposed to be a snake?"
Leo simply replied with a look that seemed to say, 'See? See what I had to put up with?'
Above, Mikey somehow managed to get enough leverage to elbow Raph in the side and twist out of his stranglehold. He pulled the fabric snake from Raph's lax grip and leaped over the railing, landing safely in a crouch. "That's right! You haven't met Leo's best friend yet, have you Don?"
To that statement, Leo felt he had to add a disclaimer. "Still not scared, Mikey."
Michelangelo ignored him and rolled on with the introduction. "Señor Snake, anaconda extraordinaire, meet my brother Donatello." He brought the snake closer to Don's face and tipped its head to the side, as though it were striking up a pleasant conversation. "Ssso, I hear you are a ssscientissst."
Donatello frowned. "But anacondas are usually over twenty feet long."
"Yeah, and they aren't made out of MY STUFF!" added Raph, who had vaulted over in hot pursuit.
"No time for technicalities, angry Raphie on my tail," Mikey said in one breath. He ran, clutching Señor Snake tightly to himself and looking for all the world like he had a precious (not to mention bizarre) fur draped around his neck. Raphael wasn't far behind.
Belatedly, Donatello realized that they were getting dangerously close to his work area. "Hey, guys? Watch it, you're gonna --" He was drowned out by a loud crash, and he sprinted off to either save what he could and/or chase his brothers away from his projects.
Leonardo heaved a sigh. With his brothers thus occupied and no desire to join them, he really had no choice but to get the talk with Splinter over with. He made his way over to his father's room but stopped outside, wondering what to say.
Hi dad. I'm having an existential crisis. May I come in?
"Come in."
Splinter's voice made him jump. After all seventeen years of his life, he still hadn't gotten used to his father's uncanny ability to sense someone at his door, and it wasn't helping his nervousness. Inside, Leo found him sitting calmly on a tatami mat in the middle of the room, taking a long sip of steaming tea, and otherwise looking not the least bit occupied.
Leo kind of got the feeling his father had been waiting for him.
"Ah, Leonardo," Splinter said, smiling. He set aside his cup and gestured in front of him. "Sit. I sense something is bothering you, my son."
Leo obediently sank into a cross-legged position. "Well...yes." After a moment of hesitation, he explained everything. When he finished, Splinter didn't respond right away; he closed his eyes and considered his son's words.
Leo tried to keep from fidgeting. He was half-afraid that Splinter was going to confirm his fear of snakes. Mikey and Raph were one thing; but Master Splinter? His last bastion of sanity? He didn't think he could handle it.
When Splinter opened his eyes, they had a knowing gleam. "And you doubt yourself?"
His fists clenched a little, as he hated to admit to such a thing, but it was time for the short answer. He was tired of second-guessing himself. "Y-Yes."
Splinter said simply, "Then, you must find out the truth."
"But...how?"
"The astral plane is where our inner selves hide their secrets. Much can be learned there."
"But I don't...I've never been there."
"I will guide you. I can follow you there, physically, but only you can see within." He reached forward and covered one of his son's hands with both of his own. "Do not worry, Leonardo. We will get to the bottom of whatever awaits. You needn't wrestle with your doubts alone."
Reassured, Leo smiled and nodded. "Okay. Let's do it." He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths. It took a few minutes, but eventually his mind and body were relaxed enough.
Splinter's voice was strong and calming. "Let your mind be calm, clear. Free. Your spirit is bright and weightless. Let it guide you upwards."
Gradually, Leo felt like he was ascending. His body felt lighter, and everything grew steadily brighter until his world became endlessly white. It was almost blinding. Occassionally the white shifted and he caught glimpses of things behind it. Leo realized that his surroundings were moving, like a night cloud passing and revealing a bit of the moon.
"What do you see?" Splinter asked.
Leo's closed eyes squinched up. "It's too bright to see anything, Master."
"Search with more than your eyes. Look with more than sight."
With an effort, Leo focused inward and slowly something became visible, emerging as if from a shining fog.
"I see...a building...no, it's too round. It's huge. Why do I feel like...it has something to do with the letter 'X?'"
"Concentrate, my son. What else?"
"A number in the sky. A six, I think. And something...wait, there's --" He cut off as he felt an odd tugging sensation. He automatically tried to resist, but the pull became stronger, insistent. He heard Splinter worriedly shout his name, as if from a great distance.
Something was obviously wrong. He tried to break from the vision but whatever had a grip on him wasn't letting him go. It just kept pulling, pulling, faster than he could comprehend. He felt like he was being swallowed, it was inevitable --
Leonardo snapped back to consciousness. He felt like he had been pushing against a door with all his might, only to have it yield without warning. Opening his eyes was disorienting; he felt heavy with the reality of the physical world, his eyesight had to adjust to the lack of ethereal brightness, and there was a strange echo in his head. Splinter was leaning over him, looking extremely shaken. That didn't make sense, because he didn't remember lying down.
He blinked."Huh?" His voice was a little hoarse. It took him a few seconds to realize that the strange echo had been a scream. His own.
Leo sat up. "What just --"
Raphael suddenly burst in with both sai drawn, scanning the room for any threat. He would have looked imposing, if he didn't have some sort of yellowish goo coating his head and dripping over his shut left eye. Catching sight of Leo and Master Splinter, both alive and unharmed, he lowered his weapons but still looked wary. "What happened?"
Michelangelo pushed past him, concern on his face. "What? What's going on?" Señor Snake hung limply around his neck, sporting a missing eyeball and a singed patch that was still smoking. A worried-looking Donatello appeared beside Mikey, a smear of the mysterious yellow substance on his left shoulder.
Leo didn't even want to think about what strange disasters their chase had created. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when Splinter abruptly stood and spoke with restrained urgency.
"All of you. I must speak to you in the den, immediately."
Leonardo sat, stunned. "Master Splinter, what --"
But Splinter shook his head curtly and was already heading towards the door. Leo scrambled to his feet and followed him, feeling utterly confused. The atmosphere of the lair had changed in just a few moments.
Leo made his way to the den area and joined his brothers, where they knelt and awaited their master's words. He could only give a tense shrug when they glanced questioningly at him.
Splinter did not sit. "My sons," he began." I fear Leonardo is in grave danger."
To be continued!
note - Mikey's random Spanish words are: "Please! Friend! Delicious! Soap operas!"
Well thanks for reading, and thanks to those who didn't give up on this fic!